Swiveling around, SwiftHaze saw a cloaked figure standing upon a short cliff. The hooded pony carefully leapt down from rock to rock before coming to their level. He approached the raiders.
“How many times do we have to go through this?” He questioned in a gravelly voice.
As he came closer, Haze realized he was a Unicorn, his horn jutting out from under his dark purple hood. His muzzle was masked, and only his dark eyes were visible. A sword floated out from behind his other side, magenta magic wrapped around it.
“Oh, fuck, not this guy,” a raider said and took a step back.
“They’re on our territory!” The buff Unicorn challenged.
“Stable dwellers are allowed to pass through!” The masked Unicorn remarked. “Or do I need to give you a reminder?”
His sword floated over and stopped right before the Unicorn stallion’s throat. He jerked back with fear in his eyes.
“We should go,” a raider mare hissed. “You know how bad things get with this asshole.”
The brown stallion nodded. “Right. You can go, for now. But if we catch you back here, you’re asking for trouble.”
“Just try anything, and you’ll be the ones in trouble! ” The hooded Unicorn shouted back as the group of raiders trotted back down the road.
“I’m sorry about them,” the Unicorn turned to Haze and Ray. “Are you two alright? Did they hurt you?”
Ray only shook her head, while Haze spoke up. “What the hell was that? Who were those guys, and why did you bail for us?”
“That was just a local raider gang, who apparently need to be reminded regularly that I don’t stand for assaults on Stable dwellers,” he grumbled.
Haze tried to read his eyes, but they appeared dark under his hood. “And why do you protect Stable dwellers, exactly? Who are you?”
“Who I am is not important,” the Unicorn claimed. “I’ve been looking out for Stable dwellers for a long time. It’s only right they had some protection from this hellhole of a city. Some guidance, if you will.”
“So you’re like... the Stable protector!” OrchidRays chimed in. “That’s pretty cool! You should come inside, I’m sure ponies would love you in Stable 47. You could tell them about your adventures-”
The stallion cut her off. “I’m not allowed in there.”
“Why not?” Ray cocked her head.
“They don’t like outsiders very much.”
For a moment, all of them were silent. They exchanged glances.
The hooded figure spoke again. “What are you two doing out here to begin with?”
“Exploring,” Haze told him.
“What?” He spat. “You’re just here to explore?!” He sounded outraged. “If you aren’t out here for a good reason, go back home!”
“No,” Haze argued. “I hated it in there! I’m not going back! At least not so soon. I want to see what I can offer for the wasteland. Maybe I can help ponies.”
“Help ponies…” the stallion muttered. “You two fillies won’t last a week out here! Go back!”
“Hey, we’re not fillies,” Haze shot back.
“Yeah, we’re mares!” Ray added, although Haze thought it was a little hypocritical. Ray was younger than her, and while, yes, she was technically a mare, Haze always thought of her as a kid.
“Please, I’m over two centuries older than you. So, you’re kids to me.”
“Two centuries?” Haze said. “You’re a ghoul?” She remembered the tales of ponies who ventured outside and met ghouls. Ponies from the past that had lived far longer than they should have.
“So what if I am?”
“That means you have a lot more experience than us!” Ray told him, almost echoing Haze’s mind. “You could help us better prepare for the wasteland!”
Haze nodded in agreement. “If you really wanted to protect us, teach us what you know.”
The stallion snorted then swirled around. Now he stomped away, down the road they were traveling. “Just go home.”
With a quick glance at Ray, Haze started trotting after the ghoul. Ray quickly caught up with her to walk side-by-side. The older pony didn’t try to deter them anymore, but was surely aware of them following him.
“Hey!” a voice called out from behind them. A lavender Unicorn was cantering after them. Haze tensed, ready for this to be another attack. She realized the Unicorn was a young stallion, probably not much older than herself.
“I, uh, heard about what just happened” the lavender Unicorn said to the ghoul. His orange eyes scanned the two mares. “Sorry about my gang. They’re just…”
“Trying to steal from these mares!” The ghoul snapped.
“Wait. Your gang?” Haze targeted the younger Unicorn. “You’re a raider.”
“I- erm.”
With a sigh, the ghoul explained. “This is GleamingChance. That was his gang, but Chance is different than them.”
“Different?” Haze retorted. “He’s a raider!”
“He lives with them, yes, but he’s not like the rest,” the Unicorn ghoul continued. “He’s a good pony. I’ve known him for a few years now. He doesn’t attack and steal like the rest of them.”
“If that’s so, why does he stay with them?” Haze wondered.
Chance looked uncomfortable. “It’s the only place I felt I belonged. Well, at least as a home. I definitely don’t like raiding.”
The ghoul shook his head under his hood. “Chance, I’ve told you over and over, you’re always welcome to stay with me. Or I could get you a home in South Gait.”
Chance didn’t respond. His gaze fell to the concrete.
Now facing the Stable mares, the ghoul said, “I guess if you two are traveling out here, you better get better equipment. Why don’t you come with me to my friend’s house. He’s got plenty of supplies and food there. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“That would be awesome!” Ray squeed.
As they began trotting, Haze kept her eye on Chance, still unsure. “I’ll come with,” he offered. “Clay’s pissed, and I kinda don’t want to be around for that. I’m sure he’d find a way to take it out on me.”
“Well yeah, he knows you associate with me,” the ghoul muttered from ahead.
“So uh,” Haze announced loudly. “Do you have a name?”
The mysterious ghoul only grumbled and continued walking.
“Flash.”
“Huh?” Haze quickly flicked her head to look at Chance.
“His name is Flash,” Chance acknowledged, pointing to the ghoul with his muzzle.
“Is he always this grumpy?” Haze asked, failing to keep her voice to a whisper.
“Oh yeah,” Chance replied. “But he means well.”
Now there was a voice in Haze’s other ear. “Should we trust this old guy?” Ray commented.
“I can hear you!” Flash called without turning his head.
After a pause, Chance spoke up. “We’re going to see EchoBeat, right?”
“Yes,” Flash verified.
“EchoBeat,” Ray murmured. “I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”
Haze only hummed, not really sure what she was getting at.
“Echo’s real nice,” Chance said. “You’ll like him.”
“But we better get moving if we want to reach his house before dark,” Flash told them.
At that, SwiftHaze lept into the air and began flapping her wings. Her flight only lasted a few seconds before Flash spun around and grasped her entire body in his magenta magic. He telekinetically pulled her down, forcing her to stand on the pavement.
“No flying!”
“What?” Haze protested. “I came out here to be free! I want to fly!”
“Flying makes you more noticeable. You’ll end up getting attacked if you’re not careful,” Flash argued.
“Hey, I can fly fast!” Haze shot back.
“But can you fly faster than bullets?”
For once Haze didn’t contend, for she knew he was right. The whole group fell silent for several minutes. Haze broke that silence to speak with OrchidRays.
“So, uh, nice trick you did with the chains earlier.”
“Oh, thanks!” Ray responded. “Are you doing okay? I mean since…”
“Since I killed ponies?” Haze let out a breath. “I’m still processing it.”
“Well, you better get used to it,” the voice of Flash commented from ahead. “Killing is just part of survival in the Equestrian wasteland. Learn to live with it, or you’re not going to live at all.
“Wow, a bit harsh, huh?”
Flash turned his head, one eye glaring at Haze. “This world is beyond harsh; worse than any words I could throw at you. If you don’t like it, go back home.”
Once again, Haze fell silent and only followed obediently.
After another few minutes of awkward silence, Chance asked, “So, what’re your names?”
“SwiftHaze.”
“I’m OrchidRays.”
“It’s nice to talk to ponies who aren’t going to shoot me first,” Chance acknowledged.
“Well, I’m still not sure I completely trust you yet. You do associate with raiders,” Haze affirmed.
“That’s alright. It’s smart not to trust ponies you just met.” Haze was taken aback by the evenness of his tone. He didn’t even sound offended at all nor condemned by her stance.
Flash had halted and was now holding up a hoof to alert the following ponies. Haze noticed a red dot crawling across her compass.
“What is it?” Chance wondered.
Ahead of Flash, Haze saw something scuttling across the street with several grotesque legs. A large segmented tail rose above it. Haze knew this was a scorpion, but it was much larger than she expected. It was as big as a pony!
A revolver floated from Flash’s side. With a loud BLAM a bullet struck the scorpion in the head and it fell limp. As the ponies passed by, Chance stopped in front of the scorpion. A knife levitated in his own magic. He sliced the tip of its sharp tail clean off.
“What are you doing?” Haze questioned.
“Radscorpion venom goes for a lot of caps. It’d be stupid to pass this up.”
“Always leave it to Chance to think of those things,” Flash remarked.
Haze shuttered at the thought of what evil doings a pony might do with that venom.
Out of nowhere, Ray screamed from behind them, which made all of them spin around. Haze’s heart sank when she saw another one of those monstrous scorpions standing next to OrchidRays. And its tail was sunken into her flank. She tipped over and hit the pavement.
“Fuck!” Flash cursed.
His horn flared and a matching sheet of magic surrounded Ray’s entire body. He lifted her away from the radscorpion. Whipping out his own pistol, Chance fired a few shots into its armored hide. This time he left the tail.
“Run!” Flash ordered.
“What do we do?” Haze yelled as she instinctively jumped into the air and flew.
“Hurry! Echo should have some antivenom,” Flash assured as he galloped.
If Flash didn’t want Haze to fly, he wasn’t say anything now. She was surprised at how fast the old ghoul could move. Although she was even more impressed by his ability to levitate a whole pony with ease. She had never seen a Unicorn accomplish that back in Stable 47.
Once again, a shot of panic surged through Haze. Her life-long friend was in danger of dying, and it was only their first day out! Oh goddesses, please let us get to Echo’s quick.
Luckily there were no more obstacles on the way there. By the time they had reached their destination, the sky was dimming into twilight. EchoBeat’s house was almost completely obscured by overgrown foliage. As they entered, Haze thought she heard Flash say something along the lines of being glad for once Echo didn’t lock his door.
Inside, Flash placed Ray down on the nearest chair. SwiftHaze loomed over her friend, dread flowing through every part of her. For a moment she thought it may have been too late, but then heard Ray make a slight groan.
“What’s going on?” A new voice approached from a different room. “SilverFlash?”
The pony who entered the room was a red Earth Pony who’s flesh looked like it was rotting off. Half of his fur was gone, only leaving pink skin exposed. He had very few strands of brown, grey and red hair left dangling from his head. Another ghoul.
“We need antivenom. Now!” Flash barked.
Echo flinched, and then reentered the room he had come out of. A few moments later he returned, a tube held in his mouth. It was a syringe filled with some sort of liquid. Flash’s magic took the syringe from Echo’s grasp and then injected it into Ray’s flank near where she had been stung.
“Will she be okay?” Haze asked.
“I think so,” Flash sighed. “That’s it- from now on, I’m carrying antivenom with me. You all might want to take some with you too.” The hooded ghoul turned around. “Thank you EchoBeat.”
It was Chance who approached the scraggly red ghoul. He levitated over the severed radscorpion tail. “Here, you might need this to make more antivenom.”
Haze was touched by the fact that Chance was offering something that he had originally intended to barter for money with. Perhaps there was good in the lavender Unicorn.
“New ponies,” EchoBeat noted in a raspy voice. “Who are these mares?”
“This is SwiftHaze and OrchidRays,” Flash introduced them. “They’re from Stable 47, but you probably could already tell.”
“It’s been awhile since you’ve brought Stable dwellers over here,” Echo commented.
“W-where are we?” Ray mumbled from the chair.
“We’re at Echo’s. We made it,” Flash said with gentleness Haze wasn’t expecting.
It took a few minutes for Ray to completely pull through. She was still a bit weary, but she seemed to be recuperating well. Flash assured that he’d stay with them long enough to make sure they were okay. Finally Ray felt well enough to stand, and was quite curious to explore the antiques in EchoBeat’s home. Of course, the ghoul was courteous enough to let them look.
Echo’s house seemed to be filled with just as many plants on the inside as it had on the outside. Haze wondered if that had anything to do with the ghoul being an Earth Pony, or if he had an even stronger affinity with plantlife than the rest of his race. Both Haze and Ray entered what looked like a display room. There were posters on the wall, and trophies in a tall glass case. A record player sat at the corner of the room.
A loud gasp came from Ray. Haze looked to her, confused. The younger mare galloped forward and jumped up to place her forelegs on a wall. She was staring at a poster.
“Linkin Pony! I can’t believe it!”
Sure enough, the poster was advertising the pre-war band. Haze recognized it as their first album’s cover, Hybrid Theory. Her eyes drifted over to where a stack of vinyl records sat next to the record player. Haze stepped up to it. She recognized the album on top; A Thousand Suns. Below it were more Linkin Pony albums.
“Hey, Ray. Look!” Haze said.
“No way!” Ray expressed with energy that made it seem like she was never poisoned.
Haze attempted to pick up one of the albums, but the stroke of her hoof just caused the tower to collapse and scatter across the floor.
“Fuck!” She blurted out.
Ray just stared in awe at the vinyl cases on the ground. “Oh! I’ve never seen this one before!” She remarked, looking at a green cover.
As Haze began to collect the cases together, she stopped as she saw the image on the back of one. Five ponies were displayed; on the left was a tall red Earth Pony with a short brown and red mane. There’s no way, She thought.
“What’s going on in here?” Flash’s voice asked from behind them.
“S-sorry! We didn’t mean to-” Haze stuttered.
Flash’s magic lifted up all the albums and sorted them into a stack. Haze noticed he had also arranged them in order of release date. Perfectionist much? Instead of placing them on top, he inserted them into a shelf below.
EchoBeat stepped into the room next. Ray excitedly ran up to him.
“You have so much Linkin Pony stuff!” She beamed.
“You know about Linkin Pony?” Echo wondered, taken aback.
“Yeah! I love their music, it plays all the time in Stable 47. I know all their albums- well, I guess I don’t if I just found one I’ve never seen!” Echo didn’t even try to stop her from rambling. He seemed quite intrigued by the young mare. “Oh, oh! And guess what! BlazingFlair- who was their bassist- is my great-great-something grandfather!” Ray seemed to finally take a second to breathe.
Echo’s dark gaze softened, and he gave a gentle smile. “BlazingFlair was one of my best friends.”
Haze heard Ray take in a huge, exaggerated gasp. She must have realized exactly what Haze had.
“You’re the drummer of Linkin Pony! That’s why your name was familiar!”
“Yes,” Echo said simply. “Well, I was. Of course, that was a long time ago.”
“Oh. My. Goddesses! This is amazing!” Ray started bouncing around in circles. Haze couldn’t help but to chuckle. Ray stopped and faced Echo again. “Oh, and Haze-” she pointed at her friend.
“Oh, no,” Haze mumbled, rolling her eyes, knowing what was coming. “Don’t-”
“Haze is the great-great-something granddaughter of HyperBlitz!”
“Nooo.” Haze collapsed to the floor and wriggled her legs around Ray playfully patted on her and giggled as she squirmed. Haze didn’t think much of this useless fact and didn’t like Ray making it such a big deal.
“Hmm, that would explain why you are a Pegasus,” Flash commented. “Pegasi are rare in the wasteland, so be careful with the power you have.”
Haze sat up straight and gave Flash a confused stare. “What do you mean?”
“I mean some ponies down here may fear you, so be careful with what you do.”
“I think as long as she wears her Stable suit she won’t be recognized as a threat,” Echo countered.
Haze’s eyes darted between the ghouls, even more confused than before. “Fine! Keep your secrets!” She called and waved her hooves in the air. Her wings motioned with them, the tip of one just barely missing a glass case.
“Let’s get out of this room before you break anything.” Flash’s uncovered eyes gave her a hard stare.
“Heh, yeah,” she grinned sheepishly.
As they returned to the front room, GleamingChance looked up at them. He had been using his knife to carve the radscorpion tail. Its venom dripped into a bowl standing on a coffee table below.
“Alright, I better be going,” Flash announced. “Echo, do you mind watching these two overnight? They shouldn’t be wandering the streets at night.”
“Of course. You’re all welcome here,” said Echo who was also looking at Chance.
“You don’t have to go,” Chance told Flash with just a hint of pleading in his tone.
“I need to check up on a friend. I may come back here to check up on all of you later,” Flash explained.
“Alright. Be safe, SilverFlash,” Echo stated in farewell.
Flash nodded once and proceeded to slip out the door.
“Wait, you mean we have to stay the night with Raider boy? What if he steals from us?” Haze asserted. Chance glared at her.
“Oh, Chance? He won’t harm you,” Echo assured. “He’s a good pony.”
“If Mr. EchoBeat says so, it must be true!” Ray chimed in.
Haze squinted her eyes, still not convinced.
“Tell us about Linkin Pony!” OrchidRays was requesting as they were settling down.
“What would you like to know?” EchoBeat replied.
Both Ray and SwiftHaze had placed their blankets down on the floor. Echo was more than happy to add to those blankets as well as pillows. He had offered a guest room, but Haze wasn’t sure she trusted a nearly two hundred year old bed frame. Ray just seemed to be happy to be close to Linkin Pony memorabilia. GleamingChance had taken his spot on the couch. He seemed uninterested in everyone else’s conversation, and was reading through a book from Echo’s home library.
“What was BlazingFlair like?” Ray asked.
Echo’s eyes filled with reminiscence. “Blazing was down-to-earth. He loved sports, and loved encouraging others. He always looked at things positively. Even during the war, he wanted to believe there was a peaceful solution.” Echo sighed.
“What about HyperBlitz?” Ray questioned more.
At that, Echo smiled. “Hyper was a character. He was funny, and very kind. One of the kindest ponies you’d ever meet. Well, maybe a close second to the Element of Kindness.”
“What’s the Element of Kindness?” Haze wondered, raising a brow.
“That’s a story for another time,” Echo assured and continued. “No, Hyper was very passionate with everything he did. Whether that was playing music, or working for the Ministry of Peace.”
There was that word again. Ministry. Before Haze could even ask, Echo bid them goodnight. Emotional exhaustion seemed to fill him just from a few answers. Even after 170 years? Haze pondered. Maybe he hadn’t had many ponies to talk to about it.
It was past midnight. SwiftHaze had fallen into a light, restless sleep, and ultimately woke up, unable to go back to sleep. Sitting alone within Echo’s kitchen, she reflected on her first day outside. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard hoofsteps approach.
“You’re still up?” Echo asked, just barely visible in the darkness. He flipped on a light.
“Do ghouls sleep?” Haze dodged, squinting.
“Sometimes. It depends. Perhaps not as much as natural ponies. Some ghouls don’t sleep at all and depend solely on radiation to sustain them.”
Haze hummed, taking that information in. Ghouls were weird.
“Can’t sleep?” Echo urged.
“Yeah.”
“Worried about Ray?”
“Huh? N-no. I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Haze said, not expecting that. “She seems better than fine, honestly.”
“Then what’s on your mind?” Echo inquired.
Haze sighed deeply. “It’s only my first day out, and I’ve already killed ponies. I killed three to save three. Was it really worth it? What’s that make me compared to a raider?”
“Initially you saved three, yes, but you could have saved ponies from being killed in the future. Those raiders could have found more captives,” Echo replied intuitively. “In the wasteland, you have to weigh your gains from your losses.” He paused, then added, “Sadly. I wish the world wasn’t this way.
“And as for your morality: the wasteland requires sacrifices for your survival and the survival of others. As long as you follow your heart’s decisions, I think you’ll make a positive difference.”
Haze nodded while she listened. Her gaze locked onto the old ghoul’s. “Thanks EchoBeat.”
“Of course,” he replied. “I’m glad I could be of some help.”
Haze pushed herself away from the table. “I guess I should try to get some sleep.” She took a few steps towards the doorway.
“Oh, and I know this may sound redundant,” Echo notified, “but give Chance a chance. He may have been brought up astray, but ponies have been proven to outgrow their origins. Just like how you left your home in Stable 47.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Haze thought aloud. “Again, thank you,” she expressed, truly grateful for his wisdom. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Echo smiled and responded, “you as well.”